When Jenny Bilfield sits down with artists who want to be booked for performances at Stanford, she's looking for what's new and perhaps a bit risky.
"Managers will very often sell the artists by saying, 'they're touring with this great Mozart cycle,'" the Lively Arts artistic and executive director says. "But I don't want the obvious, reflexive thing, where artists can't remember if they're on our stage or another stage."
Instead, Bilfield likes to take the conversation a step further: "Okay, pretend you didn't do the other stuff," she will say. "What would you really like to do and develop, that would be fun to do in this environment?"
At that point, the manager typically lights up. "He'll say, 'Well, if you really want to know, this is the project we're developing and we're really excited about, but nobody wants to take a risk on.' And that's when my hand goes up."
The former president of the New York music publisher Boosey & Hawkes, Bilfield has long promoted contemporary projects on behalf of composers and choreographers. When she took over at Lively Arts a year ago, some people, she suspects, worried that she might "veer in the direction of new, new, new."
"But there's a great deal of very important repertoire that should always be heard," Bilfield notes. "The Beethoven string quartets are unparalleled, and I would never suggest taking a position that would dismiss that repertoire. But what's interesting to me is the juxtaposition of that repertoire with new repertoire—how does a young ensemble like the Pacifica Quartet play Beethoven alongside a contemporary work by Elliott Carter? What is it about the string quartet medium that speaks to composers in different centuries? How do they utilize the sound world?"
Ticket holders would be advised to hold on to their stubs—and hats—in preparation for a season of world premieres and two specially commissioned works. Opening night on October 9 will introduce Book of Longing, an evening-length work for ensemble, singers, spoken word and imagery that represents six years of collaboration between composer Philip Glass and Canadian poet/singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen. On the bill in November: composer John Adams's latest work, Son of Chamber Symphony, co-commissioned by Lively Arts with Carnegie Hall and the San Francisco Ballet, performed by the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound and choreographed by the ever unpredictable Mark Morris.
The two commissioned works reflect a new direction for Lively Arts, which has been bringing world-class performances to campus for almost 40 years. The creative process typically starts with a composer or artist who has a project in mind, and who connects with an orchestra or dance company that is interested in the work. "But the artist needs time to write, and a commission fee gives him time to create the piece," Bilfield says. "That doesn't imply ownership of rights, but [does grant rights] to do a world premiere or regional premiere, or exclusivity for a period of time. So the commissioner is a partner in bringing the work to life."
In February, the Turtle Island Quartet will present a new arrangement of jazz legend John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, alongside the world premiere of another commissioned work—one they jointly wrote. "So on that single program we have an opportunity to look at [the quartet] as a chamber ensemble playing jazz, and at what can emerge when collaborators collaborate very differently than they usually do," Bilfield suggests.
Performers can also sign on for "Moon Tunes," a new student outreach program that will bring late-night jam sessions to outdoor plazas and terraces—lively venues for lively arts.
